Ford Escape Hybrid vs Toyota 4Runner

Ok my mom and I are deciding to get a SUV and a horse trailer. A two horse bumper pull horse trailer. Well my mom thinks that a Escape hybrid will pull a two horse trailer. We will be pulling mainly only one horse, but my mom wants to get into riding and her own horse so here soon we will be pulling two. Wel anyways I am on another forum and they all seem to think that both, the 4runner and the Escape hybrid are two small and not cappable of pulling a two horse trailer. My mom seems to think other wise. So i want to get as many oppinions as possible as to which would be better, or if neither are cool. I personally would like to get a 4-runner (the newer ones not the older ugly ones!! lol) because they look just a tad bit smaller than an expedition but i have no clue really as to what will haul and not haul. We would get a truck, but cant afford to keep that and out little care, so we are getting an SUV, and trading out car in. We cant afford the gas on a nice huge truck or we would be getting that one, as a defanit. But with a SUV the gas mileage will go down putting a trailer on it, but thats ok, because we wont always be trailering horses. So we are looking for a SUV, that will pull a two horse trailer. Any opinions????

IMHO the best thing to do would be NOT to trade your car in but to try and find a not too old F-150 in the $15,000 range. Payments would be the same as the new SUV with your car traded HOWEVER, you don't have to drive the truck everyday so the poor fuel economy isn't such a downer.

NO 4x4 vehicle is going to get "good milage"

The other thing about the towing guide. People in the know will tell you NOT to exceed 85% of the recommended towing weight of the tow vehicle. What that means is that you need to figure out exacly how much weight you are towing and multiply that times 1.15 or 115%

I figure you are looking at 800 to 1,200 pounds per horse and about 2,600 for the trailor for a total of 4,200 to 5,000 pounds. This means you need a truck/suv that can pull 4,800 to 5,800 give or take.

MY recommendation if you must have a new SUV is to get a V8 Ford Explorer Sport-Trac. They can tow up to 7,000 pounds and the small pickup up bed is more useful to horse owners than a regular SUV. You will find that the milage on the V8 is about the same as the V6 due to different transmissions and that the V8 is more modern.

Incidently most bumpers are rated for 2,000 to 2,500 pounds so get the bumper hitch out of your mind you need a class 4 hitch to tow over 5,000. And what ever you buy, you'll have to add an after market tailer brake controller too.

Not a chance for the Escape Hybrid, even if you can find one. Also, forget about the Escape Hybrid. "conventional trailor hitches are not compatible with Escape Hybrid components."

I tow a two horse trailer and one horse with my 2005 Escape Hybrid. When I got my hitch, it had to be modified to clear the coolant hoses, but that was a long time ago. I think all of the major vendor's hitches have the notch to clear the hoses. All of them list the Escape Hybrid.

Would it be better or worse than a 4 cylinder 4-runner? I think better. A v-6 4-runner, probably not.

I would expect that you won't tow very often, nor very far. If you intend to compete in weekly shows around the state, you'd be better off with a bigger vehicle.

If you tow a few times a year, 10-15 miles, the smaller vehicles would be fine. If you only tow occasionally, you might check out a rental yard that would rent the trailer and the truck for a lot less on an annual basis than buying something that's going to sit in your driveway, or worse yet, a rented space in a storage lot, 90% of the time.

I have a 2003 ford escape 4x4 XLT, i pull a 1 horse in line trailer! I have a 3500ilb hitch on it , the bigest one they make for it, I put a/t suv mud tires on it and a brake controler for the inside to help stop the trailer, read your guide that came with your suv it tell's you how much you can pull and go from there how ever a two horse i really dought it! Get a one horse! IT WILL WORK WITH BRAKES ON BOTH ENDS AS LONG AS YOU FALLOW YOU TOWING GUIDE.

I have a 2008 Escape Hybrid, and the dealership specifically does not include a tow package on that car due to the transmission is different and not able to handle pulling any weight. I would suggest a truck or maybe a non hybrid SUV. I traded in a 2003 Escape XLT V6 4x4 with a sport package that could handle pulling 3500 lbs, if you are interested in a Escape. Avoid the hybrid if you are wanting to tow. That is my advice.

My husband and I considering buying a car next month and came down to two choices in the SUV category. Ford Escape Hybird or a 2010 Toyota 4Runner.We like the idea of a ford escape that has better gas mileage, smaller and easy to drive.The 4Runner has more horsepower, larger, better to tow with and excellent in the snow.Which is a better car to buyMichelle

My gosh, you are trying to compare apples to oranges. These are two completely different vehicles. 4Runner is a big tough vehicle and will tow a lot. Escape hybrid is a great lightweight SUV with excellent gas mileage. It will get you most places in the snow as long as you get the 4 wheel drive option.